2012 a record Saw-whet Owl year at Little Gap!

As a follow-up to last week's post on the Saw-whet Owl project, Rick Wiltraut of DCNR's Jacobsburg Environment Education Center reports that they banded 435 Northern Saw-whet Owl's this fall up at Little Gap on the Ridge near Danielsville, PA.  This marks their best year yet!  

Learn more about the Center's Environmental Educational programming and be sure to keep tabs on construction of their new state-of-the-art facility.  

Saw-Whet Owls tracked at sites along the Kittatinny Ridge

Saw-Whet Owl (Source: Owling.com)

The Kittatinny Ridge and Corridor is home wildlife large and small, from black bears to bog turtles.  The Ridge's forests are prime habitat for nesting songbirds, provide resting places for migrant raptors, and host a diversity of other species.  One of the smallest bird species in North America, the Saw-Whet Owl, is the subject of author, scholer and naturalist, Scott Weidensaul's research with many sites along the Kittatinny involved in the ongoing project. 

Over the weekend the Reading Eagle reported on the research project's history and current monitoring efforts with banding sites strewn across the Ridge and eastern part of the state.  Learn more about the Saw-Whet Owl research in the article below and at Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art where Scott serves as coordinator of the Saw-Whet Owl project. 

Reading Eagle: Research tracks movement of tiny Saw-Whet Owls